How are Mozart and Beethoven or for that matter classical music qualitatively better than rock music? Both musical forms address the highs and lows of man, both have keen insight and perception into the nature of man, especially on the universal topic of love (this is where Lennon was brilliant with the early Beatle music), both are evolving and are pushing the bounds of their creativity. Classical music is technically more demanding and requires education to gain a full appreciation of its listening experience but does that make it qualitatively better? Name me one area of the human soul that classical music has covered that rock music doesn't cover! What are these cultural gems, these rarified nuggets dug out the human soul by classical music that make rock music look like the poor lost cousin? To be honest, classical music owes a great debt of gratitude to folk music. In many instances it was from folk music that classical musicians stole their ideas and melodies. In fact, classical music has gone to the common well many times and this is especially true in our times. At the turn of the 20th Century classical music borrowed heavily from jazz and African music (Gershwin and Stravinsky) and today the minimalist movement is looking to some of the forms of pop music. Rock does the same thing and it will breed with any musical form it can get its hands around. There are all kinds of hybrid forms with rock music (country rock, progressive rock, blues rock, etc.). Though classical music prides itself on its sophistication and complexity, that in itself is not enough to ensure quality, for many complex pieces of music end up being entirely meaningless or dull. There are good and memorable works in classical music as there are with any other type of music. But to say that the whole form is qualitatively better... really begs the question.
For all the seriousness and high mindedness extended to classical music (high art, snobbishness, real music, etc.), I think that it is no better or worse than rock music. I asked you if you thought that the Indian music was better or worse than European music and you chose European music because you are European, not because you could prove one superior to the other. The same holds true for classical and rock music -- they are different and yet share a lot in common -- and we choose what we want to hear when the mood strikes.